Chapter 2 / Section 1

The First People

The First PeopleThe Big Idea

Prehistoric people learned to adapt to their environment, to make simple tools, to use fire, and to use language.

Main Ideas• Scientists study the remains of early

humans to learn about prehistory.

• Hominids and early humans first appeared in East Africa millions of years ago.

• Stone Age tools grew more complex as time passed.

• Hunter-gatherer societies developed language, art, and religion.

Scientists Study Remains PREHISTORY – The time before there was writing

To study prehistory, historians rely on the work of archaeologists and anthropologists.

ArchaeologistsAnthropologists

Scientists who learn about past Scientists who study the physical

human life by studying fossils and characteristics and cultures of

artifactshumans and

their ancestors

Artifacts and Fossils

ARTIFACTS► Weapons, tools, and

other things made by humans.

FOSSILS► Traces of plants or

animals that have preserved in rock.

Early Hominids In 1959, archaeologists Mary and Louis Leakey, found bones of early

ancestors of humans, called hominids, in East Africa.

-- believed to be more than 1.5 million years old

-- belonged to an Australopithecus (aw-stray-loh-PI-thuh-kuhs)

Lucy In 1974, anthropologist Donald Johanson, found bones from a hominid

that is believed to have lived more than 3 million years ago

in Hadar, Ethiopia.

Johanson named his find “Lucy.”

Lucy:

- was bipedal: walks on two feet

- was about 3 and ½ feet tall

- was a vegetarian

- Australopithecus afarensis

Hominids and Early Humans Four major groups of hominids appeared in Africa between 5 million and

about 200,000 years ago, with each one more advanced than the one before.

Australopithecus

* Name means “southern ape”* Appeared in Africa about 4 – 5 million years ago* Stood upright and walked on two legs* Brain was about one-third the size of modern humans

Homo erectus

* Name means “upright man”* Appeared in Africa about 2 – 1.5 million years ago* Used stone tools like the hand axe* Learned to control fire* Migrated out of Africa to Asia and Europe

Homo sapiens

* Name means “wise man”* Appeared in Africa about 200,000 years ago* Migrated around the world* Same species as modern human beings* Learned to create fire and use a wide variety of tools* Developed language

Homo habilis

* Name means “handy man”* Appeared in Africa 2.4 million years ago* Used early stone tools for chopping and scraping* Brain was about the size of modern humans

Stone Age Tools The first humans lived during a period called the Stone Age.

The first part of the Stone Age is called the Paleolithic Era, or Old Stone Age.

Paleolithic times began roughly 2.5 million years ago and lasted until around 8000 B.C.

During this time people used stone tools.

The First Tools The earliest stone tools were found in Tanzania, in East Africa.

About 2.6 million years old.

Stones were struck against one another to

create a sharp, jagged edge along one side.

Tools were used to cut and chop, or scrape

root, bones, and meat.

Later Tools Improved tools were made out of flint, which was easier to shape and can

become very sharp.

Began making hand axes and attached wooden handles to tools.

Attached wooden shafts/sticks to stone

points to create a spear.

Stone Age people hunted deer,

horses, bison, and mammoths.

Hunter-Gatherer Societies Early humans formed societies, or communities of people who share a

common culture.

Nomadic hunters-gatherers , wandering in search of food/resources and gathering wild plants, seeds, fruits, and nuts.

Lived outside or took shelter in caves

Language, Art, and Religion The most important development of early Stone Age culture was language.

−Allowed more relationships to form

− Easier to hunt

− Allowed food distribution

Early humans also expressed themselves in art:

- cave paintings

- carved figures out of stone, ivory,

and bone

Items found in graves give clues about the

development of first human religions during the Stone Age.